The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1887-08-17
TIMELY TOPICS FOR FARMERS.
HOW TO DO PAYING WORK AT THIS
SEASON.
Suggestions of Interest, from an Authori-
tntivc Source.

(W l.. Jones in Southern Cultivator)
August is usually a month Of compar-
ativc rest on the Southern farm. frhc
arduous labor OF cultivating the two
most important crops is pretty well oven
on every wcllmanagcd farm, excepting,
possibly, in the extreme northern edge
OF our peculiar territory. Although
July lst is literally the midway station
in the years calendar, August 1st is
really nearer The dividing limo between
tho work Of cultivation and the labors
OF the harvest. Yct there may be some
work that may proiitably be done in the
continued cultivation OF the cotton iiclth
SHALL pLowING CONTINUE?
II depends on the condition of tho
plants and seasons. If the crop is in a
growing condition, and fruiting well.
but is rather later in DEVELOPMENT
than it should be, the cutivators, or
Shaliow-rumuing sweeps and scrapes, may
be run over the fields every ten days,
particularly after rainfall sufficient to
form crust Root-cutting and mangIiur
must be carefully avoided. as the effect
Will be to cause the plant TO she'd it's
fruit and then take on new growth too
late to amount to anything. The object
now should be to prevent tho shedding
OF the squares already formed, and en-
courage their development into blooms
aud bolis, since very few that make their
appearances after the tenth of the month
VIII escape the first killing frosts of
October Late cotton should be en-
couraBcd to keep up n vigorous growth,
not that the additional development of
the weed viii Increase the number of
bollS by the formation Of new squares,
but that the squares and young bolls
may bo FASTENED to full size and earlier
maturity. Where sweeps and scrapcs
have been used during Juno and July, if
cultivation lc continued now, it is better
to run the implement in the same furrow
previously last run, and thus avoid
plunSlDg the plow into the ridges Of soil
cast up at the blowing. One furrow in
the middle using twcnty-inch sweep,
$crapc or cultivator, will generally be all
th"t is now required.
TOPPING COrroN.
Many experiments have been made iu
topping cotton in the last forty years,
and the results and conclusions have
been very diverse. Sometimes it pays;
often 1t does not; sometimes il INJURIES.
No rule can be given that will always
work. The usual object in topping is
to prevent further growth of weed and
iolms after thc plant has as many as it
can sustain, and when new forms would
be too late to mature; the idea being to
induce the plant to throw all its yigor
iutO the effort to develop the forms al
ready visible, The object, according to
our observation, is rarely attained by
merely removing the growing top of the
plant, but may often he accomplished by
topping or looping of the growing ends
OF the branchca, as we'll aS the leader.
Ia most cases whore topping cotton re-
suited III increasing the yield it might
have been noticed that the work was
done rather c0rly-somc time in july.
Every one has observed that stalks of
cotton that were topped by the bite Of
the plow-hOrso carly i'll the season are
often made much moro fruitful thereby.
In such cases the effect of the early top
ping was probably to push the branches
of the stalks into more vigorous growth,
causing more rapid evolution of forms.
On the whole, we have very little faith
III topping cotton as part Of Il regular
system.
Pulling FODDER.
The propriety OF pulling fodder, i. e.,
whether 1t does not injure the grain more
than the fodder is worth to pull the
blades as is usually done, is one of the
questions that has been long mootcd,
but never settled. Expcrimenters differ
III results and conclusions. Possibly
each Is correct i'll the results of his eX-
pertinent, but wrong III his general con-
clusionS. The only true conclusion is,
that pulling the blades sometimes does,
and sometimes does not, injurc the grain
more than the value Of the fodder Sc
cured. 1t IS commonly said, in com
parlson with the animal system that the
blades OF corn are the lungs of the plant
by means of which the plant takes in
nutrlmcnt from the air; and as an animal
Will at once die ii deprived of its lungs,
therefore the corn will be injured by re-
moving the bladCs-a very singular and
altogether unwarranted conclusion. If
1T is said that the plant will die if de-
priycd OF its blades lungs the simile
would be perfect and the conclusion cor
rect. 1t is fact in vegetable economy
that the leaves or blades of plants con
tinuo gleen and succulcnt for time
after they have ceased to be at all neccs-
sary to the perfection of the fruit or
seed. Familiar illustrations of this law
may be found on every hand. In the
case Of the corn plant, under favorable
and natural conditions of soil and sea-
son, tho ear OF corn-the fruit of the
plants among the first parts to show
signs of II aturity. The tassel and silk
perform their Offices, and are the first to
fade; then the husk or shuck, and the
enclosed grain. This succession will be
noted particularly when corn is grown
on fresh lands or soils abounding in
humus. On worn and exhausted soils,
or soils deprived of vegetable matter,
and easily influenced by drouth, the
blades often "dry up" before the grain
is fully matured. In such cases it is un-
doubtly true that to hasten the stripping
of the blades, without reference to the
condition OF the car, would result in
more or less injury and loss of weight OF
grain. OF this every farmer must be his
Judge BE governed by the condition
of the ear, and not the blades altogether,
in deciding just when to commence pull